On a Spyder, the sun visors take abuse from the sun when the top is down, and from your hands EVERY time the top is lowered and raised. This is our second set of visors, so when they started to tear, it was time to recover them in a more heavy duty fabric.
There are a couple threads, and even a YT video that talk about the process, but they left us with a lot of unanswered questions. So, as most DSMers, we jumped in to find the answer to the question, "What's the worst it could be when we're done? They're already falling apart."
Opening the visor went unexpectedly smoothly. We tried a putty knife first, but found we needed a large flat blade screwdriver to reach in and provide good leverage when twisted. Both visors opened with a loud POP. You can see the dull areas where the glue had been applied. The mirror lifted right out, while the HomeLink needed the triangular cover gently pried off.
Of special note, the catch dowel is held in place with a sharpened metal shaft. Supports from both sides of the visor housing make a tunnel for this to be re-inserted after the visor is glued back together.
The old covering was only glued on the edges where it was wrapped and hooked onto the plastic teeth. Saving the old skins made it easy to trace their pattern on the new cloth. That pattern includes openings for the catch dowel, HomeLink, and vanity mirror.
We decided to cover them in black, since we were able to find more heavy duty material, and to keep the black & tan theme going on our interior. None of the tan cloth we found was a good match for the rest of the tan interior.
Note we did NOT cut a hole for the catch dowel. Seeing how it was designed, there was a chance the hole wouldn't line up correctly once the cover was glued on. It isn't necessary anyway, since the new covering material can be stretched in that area, even when glued shut.
We decided to use hot glue since it was fast-setting. This is best done with two people; one to apply the glue evenly (hard with a hot glue gun) and the other to press and hold the section of fabric down while the glue sets. Warning: The heat from the glue will come through the cloth and can burn you fingers! Use a plastic, or wood, tool to hold the fabric during this stage. You don't have to stretch it too much, since, when you close the visor to glue it, the fabric will be pulled tight over the top of it.
This is what it will look like when the gluing is done. Mitsu even provided pegs for the mirror opening to hold everything taunt.
To seal the two halves back together, we used a glue especially for plastic. Coat both sides of the dull, contact points on each side of the visor, and stack weights on it (we used books) for 24 hours.
Here's how to reinstall the visor catch dowels. The plastic brackets inside the cover guide the pin into position to be pressed through. Slide the hollow dowel pin cover on as the metal pin emerges, and push the rest of the way in with the long nose pliers. You can see the finished visor dowel in the background.
Here is the finished product. Sorry it's a little blurry. It's hard to see the catch dowel from this angle, but all the material pulled tight and the whole assembly feels solid. The heavier-duty material should last much better than the factory fabric.
There are a couple threads, and even a YT video that talk about the process, but they left us with a lot of unanswered questions. So, as most DSMers, we jumped in to find the answer to the question, "What's the worst it could be when we're done? They're already falling apart."
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Opening the visor went unexpectedly smoothly. We tried a putty knife first, but found we needed a large flat blade screwdriver to reach in and provide good leverage when twisted. Both visors opened with a loud POP. You can see the dull areas where the glue had been applied. The mirror lifted right out, while the HomeLink needed the triangular cover gently pried off.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Of special note, the catch dowel is held in place with a sharpened metal shaft. Supports from both sides of the visor housing make a tunnel for this to be re-inserted after the visor is glued back together.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
The old covering was only glued on the edges where it was wrapped and hooked onto the plastic teeth. Saving the old skins made it easy to trace their pattern on the new cloth. That pattern includes openings for the catch dowel, HomeLink, and vanity mirror.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
We decided to cover them in black, since we were able to find more heavy duty material, and to keep the black & tan theme going on our interior. None of the tan cloth we found was a good match for the rest of the tan interior.
Note we did NOT cut a hole for the catch dowel. Seeing how it was designed, there was a chance the hole wouldn't line up correctly once the cover was glued on. It isn't necessary anyway, since the new covering material can be stretched in that area, even when glued shut.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
We decided to use hot glue since it was fast-setting. This is best done with two people; one to apply the glue evenly (hard with a hot glue gun) and the other to press and hold the section of fabric down while the glue sets. Warning: The heat from the glue will come through the cloth and can burn you fingers! Use a plastic, or wood, tool to hold the fabric during this stage. You don't have to stretch it too much, since, when you close the visor to glue it, the fabric will be pulled tight over the top of it.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
This is what it will look like when the gluing is done. Mitsu even provided pegs for the mirror opening to hold everything taunt.
To seal the two halves back together, we used a glue especially for plastic. Coat both sides of the dull, contact points on each side of the visor, and stack weights on it (we used books) for 24 hours.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Here's how to reinstall the visor catch dowels. The plastic brackets inside the cover guide the pin into position to be pressed through. Slide the hollow dowel pin cover on as the metal pin emerges, and push the rest of the way in with the long nose pliers. You can see the finished visor dowel in the background.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Here is the finished product. Sorry it's a little blurry. It's hard to see the catch dowel from this angle, but all the material pulled tight and the whole assembly feels solid. The heavier-duty material should last much better than the factory fabric.
